Some big things are happening in the world of The Joker. A live-action origin story for The Clown Prince of Crime is officially on the way under the direction of The Hangover's Todd Phillips, which means Jared Leto's version of the villain from Suicide Squad won't be the only clown on the block as he moves into Suicide Squad 2 and the Joker/Harley solo film. When asked about the fan confusion surrounding the recent announcement of a new live-action Joker co-existing with his own, Leto admitted that the decision confused him as well, saying:
I'm a little confused too, so, there are a couple of things happening in the DC world... It's a big universe and, you know, when you play the Joker, there's no ownership there. You know you just have the honor of holding the baton for a little while and then passing it off. But there are other films in development and I'm excited to see what comes from them.
It's no secret that things have been in a consistent state of flux at DC in recent months, as DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. have consistently announced new projects and shuffled the DC slate around. In fact, the recent announcement of a Joker origin movie came out of nowhere for many fans. That said, while it also seems to have taken Jared Leto off-guard, he also recognizes the fact that he's not the only performer associated with the role and therefore holds "no ownership" over it.
Then again, Jared Leto's comments to ODE about his confusion towards the Joker origin movie aren't that surprising. We don't know much about Todd Phillips' Joker movie yet, but we do know that it won't exist under the standard DCEU banner -- which means it's a different Joker from Jared Leto's, and not a recast version of the same character. If DC is going all in on a new brand of Elseworlds-esque solo movies that present audiences with somewhat off-kilter versions of its existing characters, then that's a potentially game-changing shift in the modern superhero genre that we haven't seen before. Nobody knows what to expect.
On that note, the announcement of this project has obviously left us wondering who will eventually step in alongside Jared Leto as this plan comes together. Early rumors have suggested that Warner Bros. may be eyeing The Revenant star Leonardo DiCaprio for the role -- which makes sense, given his longstanding partnership with producer Martin Scorsese). However, an official casting announcement is still a long way off, so we will have to wait and see how the project evolves as a new performer steps in to share the role with Leto.
The current DCEU banner will continue when Justice League debuts in theaters later this year on November 17, 2017. For those of you on the lookout for more information related to the rest of this year's major theatrical releases, check out our comprehensive movie premiere guide!
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